Boys Volleyball: North Penn serves its way past Christopher Dock

TOWAMENCIN — All four games between Christopher Dock and North Penn on Friday night were tense, tight struggles decided by just a few points each.

But no matter what the situation, the Knights’ serving was an unwavering force.

“That kept us going, allowing us to make a run,” outside hitter Andy Willits said. “It’s gotta start with the serve, and I think that was key in helping us to win that fourth game.”

The Knights rallied from an 18-11 deficit in Game Four to win 29-27 and close out the Pioneers, 3-1, in the non-league match between two perennial District One powers.

Willits, a tri-captain for the Knights (11-3), led North Penn in kills with 17 and his four aces were eblematic of North Penn’s strength.

“We started being a little more aggressive serving and I think that really made the difference,” Knights coach Tim Moyer said. “I think down the stretch, our serving and defense picked it up and kind of pushed us over the hump. That last game in particular, the guys kind of weathered the storm.”

Christopher Dock (10-2) came out firing on its Senior Night and took the first game, 25-23. The Knights then made an adjustment.

“In the first game, I felt like our two big servers, Kyle Sucro and Andy, kind of backed off a little bit. They hit some where they let it float out of bounds,” Moyer said. “So I told them between games, if you’re gonna jump serve, you need to go after it.”

Willits’ ace to close out Game Two, 27-25, evened the match at one apiece. The Knights held off Dock in Game Three, 25-21, to go up 2-1 before rallying in Game Four.

“This is really gonna help us drive into the playoffs,” said Willits, whose team avenged an earlier loss to Dock in the Quakertown Tournament Finals.

“We decided to fight a little bit more,” Moyer said of Friday night’s match. “I feel like the last couple matches, the guys are starting to believe in each other a little bit more, rally around each other a little bit. They knew this was a big one tonight.”

Gabe Stoler had 13 kills and eight digs for the Knights, who also got an all-around performance from Sucro with 11 kills, five digs and four blocks.

But there was one phase of the Knights’ game in particular that gave Dock problems.

“They served tough. They kept us off our game,” Pioneer coach Tim Mackey said. “We couldn’t run our offense the way we like for most of the night, They’re a tough serving team and they kind of held us at bay.”

Travis Hoover had 17 kills and Colton Young had 40 assists and eight digs for the Pioneers on their Senior Night.

“We had a big lead in Game Four and again North Penn’s serving came into play,” Mackey said. “They’re a good team, they block well, and that forced us into a situation that we really didn’t want. Districts are right around the corner so we don’t have a choice (except to learn from this).”

Dock is back on the court Tuesday at Souderton and North Penn travels to Quakertown on Monday.